SECRET LOVE, hotchniss

18

2 X 19

8 words.

Aaron had been home for 6 days, and Hayley had only said 8 words to him, in two blocks of four.

When they got back from their last case he had spent the rest of the day finishing paperwork in his office rather than racing home like the rest of the team. He wasn't quite ready to face 'home' yet, he was exhausted and needed to gain some energy before heading back and engaging in their regularly scheduled arguing.

The sun had set before he left his office, and he had come home to find her sitting on the sofa, staring at the tv, but not watching it, the pictures flashing in-front of her clearly doing nothing to distract her mind.

As he walked in and put his things down, they locked eyes. She was tired, emotionless.

"I'm glad you're safe." She said, her words cold. He knew she meant them, he never doubted that for a moment. But they were laced with a sarcastic undertone, they translated to 'im glad you're safe... because you didn't call... Again.'

He knew she worried, that when he didn't call she assumed the worst. That she would sit here and think about every worst case scenario and panic herself until she heard his voice, affirming his safety.

She couldn't understand that sometimes he was too busy to call, busy trying to stop the unnecessary murders that were inevitably going to happen should he not have his full attention trained on finding their unsub.

She followed those 4 words with her final set of 4,"I'm going to bed."

She broke the eye contact and went up stairs, ending their argument before it had even begun.

When he was home, his family were his top priority. He would put his heart, mind, and soul into being present, into being the best husband and father he could.

But when he was at work, his top priority had to be at work too. Innocent lives quite literally depended on it.

That was something he had accepted years ago. But Hayley couldn't accept that. She couldn't understand. Because she didn't see what he saw, she didn't have any idea of the dangers, the horrors, he saw every day, so much so that he barely even batted and eyelid anymore.

It wasn't her fault.

It felt like he didn't live in the same world as her anymore, only sharing a small overlap that lasted a few days here and there. They had once shared the same goals, running the same road hand in hand in order to reach the same finish line. But somewhere along the way, his finish line had changed locations, and they were only left with one goal in common; Jack.

He barely even knew what to talk to her about anymore. He used to come home and tell her everything, talk about his day, laugh and joke. But now their days were just filled with awkward silence and avoided eye contact. It was as if the conversation revolved around Jack, or it didn't exist at all.

He wondered to himself when that had happened. When he had lost the ability to have a normal conversation with his wife.